Big Sky Cafe

Take Me Here Using Metro Transit

Big Sky Café has offered thoughtful, sustainably sourced fare to Webster Groves for over two decades. Big Sky Café is decorated with repurposed materials, like old doors painted to show specials, keeping waste out of the landfill while giving it a second life. Old wine bottles are even used to give chilled water to customers who ask for water.

Sustainability is part of the culture at Big Sky Café. After long conversations with wait staff, the owner, managers, and kitchen staff, they decided it was in line with their mission to move to compostable straws, and to only offer them on request. The whole staff is engaged with their environmental mission, from servers, who learn about the local farms their menu items are crafted from, to their kitchen staff, who waste nothing – creating masterpieces out of scraps and composting the rest.

The management at Big Sky Café has conversations with all of their vendors that explains their environmental commitment, demanding more sustainable products. This is a wonderful way for restaurants to use their influence to push the needle for large distribution companies, making it easier for smaller restaurants to purchase green products.

Big Sky Café saves their corks for a special recycling program, recycles all of their light bulbs and other hard-to-recycle items at appropriate locations, and composts their food waste. Their diversion rate (the amount of waste prevented from hitting the landfill) is a stunning 91%!

In addition to sourcing from local farmers like DoubleStar Farms and Buttonwood Farm, they grow their own herbs and some veggies on their sunny patio. Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options are considered and included on most of the specials lists – at our most recent audit, NINE of their specials were vegetarian, and so was nearly half of their menu. They even take care to try and source sustainable seafood by using the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch App.

Big Sky Café does their part to reduce their carbon footprint as well, purchasing energy offsets through the Pure Power program, using LEDs in their overhead lights and in their rechargeable candles, and by regularly maintaining their equipment to ensure everything is running efficiently.

Big Sky Café is a treasure – be sure to check them out next time you’re in Webster Groves!